Replacing stock speakers
 

Hey guys, I'm pretty new to this forum, and to cars and modding as well. I'm about to turn 17 and i got a 08 GD3 base fit as my first car from my mom. had it for half a year now and loving it so far. But now to get on topic.

I've noticed that the speakers were on the noticeably low end when we got the car, but didn't think replacing it while it was my moms car was worth it, plus she didn't really complain about them. But now that its my daily drive to school and around I've finally decided its time to do some upgrades. I've installed an aux jack myself and wired it up to the stock hu so now it's time to upgrade the speakers.

I know that the Fit has 6 1/2 inch speakers and that the max mounting depth for a replacement is 77mm which is about 3.03 inches. Now I've done some research myself and figured it would probably be the easiest right now to install coaxial speakers right now, and now have to worry about finding a spot to mount the tweeters and having to wire an amp and a crossover. This will probably come another time. But now I've found some speakers myself at my local best buy and looked them up online and I would like to get your opinion on them. Any other suggestions are also appreciated and will defiantly be looked at.

So here is what i found so far.

1. Alpine SPS-610 6-1/2" 2-Way Type-S Series Coaxial Car Speakers

Amazon.com: Alpine SPS-610 6-1/2" 2-Way Type-S Series Coaxial Car Speakers: Car Electronics

2. Polk Audio DXi 650s
Polk Audio DXi 650s 6-1/2" 2-way shallow-mount car speakers at Crutchfield.com

3. Pioneer TS-A1674R A-Series 6 1/2" 3-Way 300 Watts
Amazon.com: Pioneer TS-A1674R A-Series 6 1/2" 3-Way 300 Watts: Car Electronics

I'm looking at a price range of $80-$90 per pair. And i plan on replacing both the front and rear speakers.

Welcome to the forum, and to the Fit world! Upgrading the speakers will help but do yourself a huge favor and start hanging out at the local specialty stereo shop. You will find alot of people that will tell you what sounds good, where to get them off the net and what to look for but the most important part of the car audio hobby is how it sounds!! You can't listen to a speaker before you buy it off the internet. As a store manager of a specialty shop back in the day, I found that everyone has a specific sound that is pleasing them, and it may or may not be what you think you'd like. Some people like a lot of tweeter (like a metal dome such as titanium) and some people like a smoother sound (like a fabric dome such as silk). Your ears won't lie to you so take the chance to listen to them. We used to sell everything from sets that were $50 all the way up as much as $1500. BB is a good place to start but a specialty shop tends to be more "in tune" with what sounds good. We sold both Alpine and Polks and you will get a lot different sound between those two. We only sold Pioneer H/U's so I can't comment on what they would sound like.

I can only assume that since you are inquiring about upgrades that you at least care a little about how it sounds, and I would always recommend to save a little longer and get something good the first time than buying twice. You are lucky with the Fit that it uses the same size driver all the way around and you could get away with a less expensive set now, and later move them to the back and get a better set for the fronts. Also be aware that coaxes will be an easier installation but a component will almost always sound better. Don't forget that components will also like more power so factor an amp into the cost equation for the future.

Is there any pair that you would recommend that's not on the list? I'm trying to get peoples opinion first before I walk around BB or a car audio shop clueless.. So I have a good idea of what to look for. And unfortunately there aren't many, if not any just straight car audio shops around me.

Not every shop will sell every brand. I've got Dynaudio drivers in my Accord, and I had Hertz drivers in the Fit. I've used Diamond, MB Quart, Image Dynamics, Boston Acoustics, as well as many others and they all sound different. The best way to find out what you like is to listen. Grab a CD of something you are familiar with and give them a listen. The shop should give you the opportunity to listen to all different brands and let your ears be your guide.

Good advice ^^

Infinity Reference 6502iX 6.5" 60W Car Speakers
These are the ones im getting and they sound great for all kinds of music from rap to metal ;) probably be able to find a better price else where but 95$ for infinities are pretty great deal.

FRYS.com | Infinity

I have an 07 Fit, I run 2 sets of components from Sony with matching Sony amp. For what the price is, its very affordable and can get REALLY loud with the amp with little or no distortion. The quality back then might have been really cheap(Sony Xplod,) but all the new models are higher quality. I just bought a whole set(1 component, 1 coaxial, 1 amp) for my dad. We're about to hook it up in his 2012 Murano since bose system is crap. For tweeters, you can keep a stock look if you get the 07-08 sport door panels because they have tweeter holes, otherwise, just drill some holes on the door panel and put them there.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SONY-XS-GS1720S-6-1-2-6-3-4-COMPONENT-SPEAKER-SYSTEM-NEW-XSGS1720S-/370771003143?pt=Car_Speakers&hash=item5653ac8707components 79.99

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-XS-GS1720-4-Way-6-5-Car-Speaker-System-New-in-Box-Free-Shipping-/230949871466?pt=Car_Subwoofers_Enclosures&hash=item35c5af5f6acoaxial 62.99

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SONY-XM-GS400-700W-GS-SERIES-4-CHANNEL-CAR-AUDIO-AMPLIFIER-NEW-XMGS400-/370784661813?pt=Car_Amplifiers&hash=item56547cf135amp 99.99+(bids)

Then you'll need speaker pods which scosche makes them. They are the same from a Honda Ridgeline.

http://a248.e.akamai.net/pix.crutchf...20-o_side.jpeg
Notice the magnet is much bigger than most.

Hey guys, real quick, I just wanted say Nice Feedback, well said.

I could go on for a while about this but I will give you the abridged version.
Replacing just your speakers and still running your factory head unit will sound better at lower volumes but will not give you the sound you want at louder volumes. The head unit only puts out a few watts rms and the speakers you listed above have larger magnets that your head unit will not be able to push. It will be distorted and you will blow the speaker at higher volumes. Simple as that. I would recommend saving up and include buying a smaller amp that will put out enough wattage and a frequency cutoff to push them properly. Craigslist is your friend for amps. Just trying to save you some headaches in the long run. In the ones you have listed above I would probably go with the Polks, Alpine and never Pioneer in that order.

Sorry for being away for so long, but I thought i'd give you an update.

the stock speakers in the car are actually not that bad, and as Dean said, upgrading your hu is by far the best start.

last week i upgraded the hu to a pioneer fh-x700bt double din hu and i must say it sounds 100x better then the stock hu.

always start the stereo build with a head unit. Its gonna be the only source of signal and you should strive for a quality one

How about an integration kit so I can run an amp from the oem head unit and power up speakers and/or a sub?

I just want to keep my interior as stock as possible so it doesn't attract thieves that much. My plan is to run an integration kit so I don't have to cut/splice wires, a 4/5 channel amp to power the speakers and a sub.

Can anyone confirm what the mounting depth and speaker size is for the rear door speakers as well on a GD3?

A few years ago, I wanted to upgrade my GD3 from the stock stereo to a new head unit and front speakers.

No way the speakers I got (Hybrid Audio Technology "Imagine") would fit in the front, too deep. So I cut the cones out of the old speakers and used them as frames for the new speakers. Still sticks out a smidge but I can live with it.

Head unit was the Pioneer AVIC U-310BT I got at a ridiculous price ($139) on closeout from bestbuy. Navi, ipod integration, bluetooth phone, etc.

Miles ahead of the stock system!

I've gone through so many different speaker configs over the years as I've moved from car to car and the cleanest I've found so far are Focals I currently have installed in my Fit. They were in my wife's CR-V (once my daily driver) but lifted them once I got the fit knowing she doesn't listen to music the way I do. I was able to fit the 6 1/2 Focal polyglass componants in the front doors with a spacer and needed to go with 5 1/4 Access coax in the rear. I have an Alpine IVE-W530HD with the alpine KTP-445A amp. They give the Focals just enough power to keep them clean with out having to worry about blowing them out. If you are looking for some bass with out using up your entire trunk look in to the JL Audio microsub (CP106LG) with a JL Audio XD300 amp, the microsub is small enough to sit under the back seat and the amp will sit under the front seat. Great sound out of something so compact
Alpine KTP-445A

Did we forget this kid is on a specific budget. I don't think focals come close to hi budget he put in his OP.

Sound Deadening
 

I've been researching replacements for the original stereo in my 2007 Fit Sport, and one thing I keep coming across as essential for high quality sound (especially in the fairly noisy GD Fit) is the installation of sound deadening materials.

I found the advice in the link below very helpful. Read the entire post #5:
Which company makes the best car speakers?

Here's an excerpt from the post:His link to the sounddeadenershowdown web site doesn't work, so click on the link below for an incredible amount of detailed information on how to significantly reduce the road noise that comes between you and the quality of sound you expect from the upgraded stereo components you buy.
Welcome to Sound Deadener Showdown | Sound Deadener Showdown

I'm contemplating whether to do this myself. If I decide to keep my Fit for another 100k miles I just might invest the money, time, and effort to transform the interior sonic landscape of my car.

Some things in that link you posted are correct, others I'm not so sure about lol.. I've replaced stock speakers with aftermarkets in the $100 range and I've used aftermarket speakers in the $350+ range, and trust me.. there is a HUGE difference! I've run mid-grade Alpines (about $100 for the front and $75 for the back) and they were definitely an improvement over stock, but still felt like they were missing some pop. I decided to follow that old saying "go big or go home" and picked up some Focal speakers for what is currently my wife's car (2012 CR-V). The difference is night and day! I kept the stock headunit in the CR-V because of the bluetooth and rear camera, but spliced in a small Alpine amp. The Focals are 50 watts RMS so I put in an amp that pushed 45 watts RMS per channel to keep the sound clean and not have to worry too much about blowing them out. Now that my daily driver is the Fit I moved the Focals in to my car (gave my wife some Rockfords, pretty clean but not as good as the Focals) and I'm running them with the same model alpine amp with an Alpine headunit that allows for a lot more sound adjustment then a stock headunit. I play everything from hard rock/metal, classic rock, rap, R&B, and some acoustic stuff. Everything sounds clean and crisp and the only adjustment I need to make is turning the subwoofer up or down depending on what kind of music I'm playing. I'll crank the acoustic version of Hotel California and my car sounds like a concert hall, and that's with out sound dampening. Sure the GD Fit isn't the quietest car on the road, but with a quality system you really don't notice. I'm sure with some sound dampening in the doors I would notice a slight difference, but I'm not sure if it would be a night/day type of difference. I also noticed a drop in road noise when I upgraded my rims/tires over what came on my car, that was a night/day difference lol.

what focals did you get?